Fundamentals of Mixed Signals and Sensors Learning Module 1 FINAL by CORVERA

LEARNING MODULE SURIGAO STATE COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY
Module No. 1
INTRODUCTION, DIFFERENTIAL AND OPERATIONAL AMPLIFIERS
Topic 1.1. Introduction to Mixed Signals
1.2. Operational Amplifiers (Op-amps)
1.3. The Summing Amplifier
1.4. The Differential Amplifier
Time 12 hours
Frame
Introduction The Inverting Operational Amplifier configuration is one of the
simplest and most commonly used op-amp topologies.
The second basic configuration of an operational amplifier circuit is
that of a Non-inverting Operational Amplifier design.
The Summing Amplifier is another type of operational amplifier
circuit configuration that is used to combine the voltages present on
two or more inputs into a single output voltage.
The differential amplifier amplifies the voltage difference present on
its inverting and non-inverting inputs
Objectives In this lesson, learners will be able to:
 Describe basic current mixed signal systems(e.g. Wireless
transceiver),
 Differentiate Operational Amplifiers and Differential
Amplifiers,
 Use negative feedback connected around the op-amp to
produce a standard closed-loop amplifier circuit,
 Describe the effect of the output voltage, Vout when a signal
voltage is connected to the inverting input and the non-
inverting input,
Learning 1.1. Introduction to Mixed Signal
Activities
Mixed-Signal Design
• What kind of design do you like to do?
• Is Digital Logic design your favorite?
• Is Embedded Software design your favorite?
• Is Analog Transistor level design your favorite?
• Or do you like them all!
What is Mixed-Signal Design?

• Mixed Signal Designs include both Analog and Digital circuits on
the same Integrated Circuit.
• What are Analog Circuits - I/Os, Amplifiers, Oscillators,
Comparators, Regulators, References, Temperature Sensors, Data
Converters, Level shifters, etc.
• What are Digital Circuits – Logic gates, State Machines,
• What are Digital Circuits – Logic gates, State Machines, Control,
Microprocessors with Firmware, Memories, Communication,
CPE 108 – PROGRAMMING LOGIC AND DESIGN 1

Programmability, Analog Trim, FPGA’s etc.

• Are all Digital IC’s Mixed Signal?
• Are all Analog IC’s Mixed Signal?
Why Mixed-Signal Design?

• The Real World is Analog – Colors, Sounds, Temperatures,
Textures, Motion, etc.
• Transducers turn the Analog world into Voltage and Current
signals.
• Analog Circuits are the “senses” of the Integrated Circuit – they
condition the signal and prepare it for interpretation and
manipulation.
• Digital Circuits and Software are the “brains” of the manipulation.
Integrated Circuit – they efficiently process the information.
• Analog Circuits create the “action” as they send the interpretation
or modified signal back into the real world.
• Analog to Digital (ADC) Converters and Digital to Analog
Converters (DAC) link the senses to the brain and the brain to the
action.
Some Mixed Signal Applications

Why Mixed Signal Integrated Circuits?
Current electronics and mixed signal technology
Exciting digital consumer electronics world

New consumer electronics era has been emerged.
Key technologies are digital multimedia and System on a Chip.

LCD Driver
LCD driver is a simple example of mixed signal LSI
LCD driver is an array of DA converters

Image of current electronics
Mixed signal technology :Digital networking

ADSL and VDSL use the mixed signal technology
Mixed signal tech. ; Digital read channel

Digital storage also needs high speed mixed signal technologies.

Mixed signal SoC
Mixed signal SoC can realize full system integration for DVD
application.
Embedded analog is the key.
Recent developed mixed signal CMOS LSIs

Application area in mixed signal CMOS tech.

Almost all the products need mixed signal CMOS LSI tech.
Digital technology in real world

Digital signal suffers heavy damage in real world.
But, digital can address this issue by own advantages, but needs the
help of analog tech.

Role of current analog technology

The role of current analog technology is an interface between digital
technology and outer physical world. Analog supports digital.
1.2. Operational Amplifier Basics
Operational Amplifiers, or Op-amps as they are more commonly

called, are one of the basic building blocks of Analogue Electronic

Circuits.
Operational amplifiers are linear devices that have all the properties
required for nearly ideal DC amplification and are therefore used
extensively in signal conditioning, filtering or to perform
mathematical operations such as add, subtract, integration and
differentiation.
An Operational Amplifier, or op-amp for short, is fundamentally a

voltage amplifying device designed to be used with external
feedback components such as resistors and capacitors between its
output and input terminals. These feedback components determine
the resulting function or “operation” of the amplifier and by virtue of
the different feedback configurations whether resistive, capacitive or
both, the amplifier can perform a variety of different operations,
giving rise to its name of “Operational Amplifier”.
An Operational Amplifier is basically a three-terminal device which

consists of two high impedance inputs. One of the inputs is called
the Inverting Input, marked with a negative or “minus” sign, ( – ). The
other input is called the Non-inverting Input, marked with a positive
or “plus” sign ( + ).
A third terminal represents the operational amplifiers output port

which can both sink and source either a voltage or a current. In a
linear operational amplifier, the output signal is the amplification
factor, known as the amplifiers gain ( A ) multiplied by the value of
the input signal and depending on the nature of these input and
output signals, there can be four different classifications of
operational amplifier gain.
Voltage – Voltage “in” and Voltage “out”

Current – Current “in” and Current “out”
Transconductance – Voltage “in” and Current “out”
Transresistance – Current “in” and Voltage “out”
Since most of the circuits dealing with operational amplifiers are
voltage amplifiers, we will limit the tutorials in this section to voltage
amplifiers only, (Vin and Vout).
The output voltage signal from an Operational Amplifier is the

difference between the signals being applied to its two individual
inputs. In other words, an op-amps output signal is the difference
between the two input signals as the input stage of an Operational
Amplifier is in fact a differential amplifier as shown below.
Differential Amplifier
The circuit below shows a generalized form of a differential amplifier

with two inputs marked V1 and V2. The two identical transistors TR1
and TR2 are both biased at the same operating point with their
emitters connected together and returned to the common rail, -Vee
by way of resistor Re.
The circuit operates from a dual supply +Vcc and -Vee which
ensures a constant supply. The voltage that appears at the output,
Vout of the amplifier is the difference between the two input signals
as the two base inputs are in anti-phase with each other.
So as the forward bias of transistor, TR1 is increased, the forward

bias of transistor TR2 is reduced and vice versa. Then if the two
transistors are perfectly matched, the current flowing through the
common emitter resistor, Re will remain constant.
Like the input signal, the output signal is also balanced and since the
collector voltages either swing in opposite directions (anti-phase) or
in the same direction (in-phase) the output voltage signal, taken from
between the two collectors is, assuming a perfectly balanced circuit
the zero difference between the two collector voltages.
This is known as the Common Mode of Operation with the common

mode gain of the amplifier being the output gain when the input is
zero.
Operational Amplifiers also have one output (although there are

ones with an additional differential output) of low impedance that is
referenced to a common ground terminal and it should ignore any
common mode signals that is, if an identical signal is applied to both
the inverting and non-inverting inputs there should no change to the
output.

However, in real amplifiers there is always some variation and the

ratio of the change to the output voltage with regards to the change
in the common mode input voltage is called the Common Mode
Rejection Ratio or CMRR for short.
Operational Amplifiers on their own have a very high open loop DC

gain and by applying some form of Negative Feedback we can
produce an operational amplifier circuit that has a very precise gain
characteristic that is dependant only on the feedback used. Note that
the term “open loop” means that there are no feedback components
used around the amplifier so the feedback path or loop is open.
An operational amplifier only responds to the difference between the

voltages on its two input terminals, known commonly as the
“Differential Input Voltage” and not to their common potential. Then if
the same voltage potential is applied to both terminals the resultant
output will be zero. An Operational Amplifiers gain is commonly
known as the Open Loop Differential Gain, and is given the symbol
(Ao).
Equivalent Circuit of an Ideal Operational Amplifier
Op-amp Parameter and Idealised Characteristic
Open Loop Gain, (Avo)
Infinite – The main function of an operational amplifier is to amplify

the input signal and the more open loop gain it has the better. Open-
loop gain is the gain of the op-amp without positive or negative
feedback and for such an amplifier the gain will be infinite but typical
real values range from about 20,000 to 200,000.
Input impedance, (ZIN)

Infinite – Input impedance is the ratio of input voltage to input

current and is assumed to be infinite to prevent any current flowing
from the source supply into the amplifiers input circuitry ( I IN = 0 ).
Real op-amps have input leakage currents from a few pico-amps to
a few milli-amps.
Output impedance, (ZOUT)
Zero – The output impedance of the ideal operational amplifier is

assumed to be zero acting as a perfect internal voltage source with
no internal resistance so that it can supply as much current as
necessary to the load. This internal resistance is effectively in series
with the load thereby reducing the output voltage available to the
load. Real op-amps have output impedances in the 100-20kΩ range.
Bandwidth, (BW)
Infinite – An ideal operational amplifier has an infinite frequency

response and can amplify any frequency signal from DC to the
highest AC frequencies so it is therefore assumed to have an infinite
bandwidth. With real op-amps, the bandwidth is limited by the Gain-
Bandwidth product (GB), which is equal to the frequency where the
amplifiers gain becomes unity.
Offset Voltage, (VIO)
Zero – The amplifiers output will be zero when the voltage difference
between the inverting and the non-inverting inputs is zero, the same
or when both inputs are grounded. Real op-amps have some
amount of output offset voltage.
From these “idealized” characteristics above, we can see that the

input resistance is infinite, so no current flows into either input
terminal (the “current rule”) and that the differential input offset
voltage is zero (the “voltage rule”). It is important to remember
these two properties as they will help us understand the workings of
the Operational Amplifier with regards to the analysis and design
of op-amp circuits.
However, real Operational Amplifiers such as the commonly

available uA741, for example do not have infinite gain or bandwidth
but have a typical “Open Loop Gain” which is defined as the
amplifiers output amplification without any external feedback signals
connected to it and for a typical operational amplifier is about 100dB
at DC (zero Hz). This output gain decreases linearly with frequency
down to “Unity Gain” or 1, at about 1MHz and this is shown in the
following open loop gain response curve.

Open-loop Frequency Response Curve
From this frequency response curve we can see that the product of
the gain against frequency is constant at any point along the curve.
Also that the unity gain (0dB) frequency also determines the gain of
the amplifier at any point along the curve. This constant is generally
known as the Gain Bandwidth Product or GBP. Therefore:
GBP = Gain x Bandwidth = A x BW
For example, from the graph above the gain of the amplifier at
100kHz is given as 20dB or 10, then the gain bandwidth product is
calculated as:
GBP = A x BW = 10 x 100,000Hz = 1,000,000.
Similarly, the operational amplifiers gain at 1kHz = 60dB or 1000,

therefore the GBP is given as:
GBP = A x BW = 1,000 x 1,000Hz = 1,000,000. The same!.
The Voltage Gain (AV) of the operational amplifier can be found

using the following formula:
and in Decibels or (dB) is given as:

An Operational Amplifiers Bandwidth

The operational amplifiers bandwidth is the frequency range over
which the voltage gain of the amplifier is above 70.7% or -3dB
(where 0dB is the maximum) of its maximum output value as shown
below.
Here we have used the 40dB line as an example. The -3dB or

70.7% of Vmax down point from the frequency response curve is
given as 37dB. Taking a line across until it intersects with the main
GBP curve gives us a frequency point just above the 10kHz line at
about 12 to 15kHz. We can now calculate this more accurately as
we already know the GBP of the amplifier, in this particular case
1MHz.
Operational Amplifier Example No1.

Using the formula 20 log (A), we can calculate the bandwidth of the
amplifier as:
37 = 20 log (A) therefore, A = anti-log (37 ÷ 20) = 70.8
GBP ÷ A = Bandwidth, therefore, 1,000,000 ÷ 70.8 = 14,124Hz, or

14kHz
Then the bandwidth of the amplifier at a gain of 40dB is given as

14kHz as previously predicted from the graph.
Operational Amplifier Example No2.

If the gain of the operational amplifier was reduced by half to say

20dB in the above frequency response curve, the -3dB point would
now be at 17dB. This would then give the operational amplifier an
overall gain of 7.08, therefore A = 7.08.
If we use the same formula as above, this new gain would give us a
bandwidth of approximately 141.2kHz, ten times more than the
frequency given at the 40dB point. It can therefore be seen that by
reducing the overall “open loop gain” of an operational amplifier its
bandwidth is increased and visa versa.
In other words, an operational amplifiers bandwidth is inversely

proportional to its gain, ( A 1/∞ BW ). Also, this -3dB corner
frequency point is generally known as the “half power point”, as the
output power of the amplifier is at half its maximum value as shown:
Operational Amplifiers Summary
We know now that an Operational amplifiers is a very high gain DC

differential amplifier that uses one or more external feedback
networks to control its response and characteristics. We can connect
external resistors or capacitors to the op-amp in a number of
different ways to form basic “building Block” circuits such as,
Inverting, Non-Inverting, Voltage Follower, Summing, Differential,
Integrator and Differentiator type amplifiers.

An “ideal” or perfect operational amplifier is a device with certain

special characteristics such as infinite open-loop gain AO, infinite
input resistance RIN, zero output resistance ROUT, infinite bandwidth 0
to ∞ and zero offset (the output is exactly zero when the input is
zero).
There are a very large number of operational amplifier IC’s available

to suit every possible application from standard bipolar, precision,
high-speed, low-noise, high-voltage, etc, in either standard
configuration or with internal Junction FET transistors.
Operational amplifiers are available in IC packages of either single,

dual or quad op-amps within one single device. The most commonly
available and used of all operational amplifiers in basic electronic
kits and projects is the industry standard μA-741.
1.3. Op-Amp-Applications
A circuit is said to be linear, if there exists a linear relationship
between its input and the output. Similarly, a circuit is said to be non-
linear, if there exists a non-linear relationship between its input and
output.
Op-amps can be used in both linear and non-linear applications. The

following are the basic applications of op-amp −
 Inverting Amplifier
 Non-inverting Amplifier
 Voltage follower
This chapter discusses these basic applications in detail.
1.3.1 Inverting Operational Amplifier

The Inverting Operational Amplifier configuration is one of the

simplest and most commonly used op-amp topologies.
We saw in the last tutorial that the Open Loop Gain, ( AVO ) of an

operational amplifier can be very high, as much as 1,000,000
(120dB) or more.
However, this very high gain is of no real use to us as it makes the
amplifier both unstable and hard to control as the smallest of input
signals, just a few micro-volts, (μV) would be enough to cause the
output voltage to saturate and swing towards one or the other of the
voltage supply rails losing complete control of the output.
As the open loop DC gain of an operational amplifier is extremely
high we can therefore afford to lose some of this high gain by
connecting a suitable resistor across the amplifier from the output
terminal back to the inverting input terminal to both reduce and
control the overall gain of the amplifier. This then produces and
effect known commonly as Negative Feedback, and thus produces a
very stable Operational Amplifier based system.
Negative Feedback is the process of “feeding back” a fraction of the
output signal back to the input, but to make the feedback negative,
we must feed it back to the negative or “inverting input” terminal of
the op-amp using an external Feedback Resistor called Rƒ. This
feedback connection between the output and the inverting input
terminal forces the differential input voltage towards zero.
This effect produces a closed loop circuit to the amplifier resulting in
the gain of the amplifier now being called its Closed-loop Gain.
Then a closed-loop inverting amplifier uses negative feedback to
accurately control the overall gain of the amplifier, but at a cost in
the reduction of the amplifiers gain.
This negative feedback results in the inverting input terminal having
a different signal on it than the actual input voltage as it will be the
sum of the input voltage plus the negative feedback voltage giving it
the label or term of a Summing Point. We must therefore separate
the real input signal from the inverting input by using an Input
Resistor, Rin.
As we are not using the positive non-inverting input this is connected
to a common ground or zero voltage terminal as shown below, but
the effect of this closed loop feedback circuit results in the voltage
potential at the inverting input being equal to that at the non-inverting
input producing a Virtual Earth summing point because it will be at
the same potential as the grounded reference input. In other words,
the op-amp becomes a “differential amplifier”.
Inverting Operational Amplifier Configuration

In this Inverting Amplifier circuit the operational amplifier is

connected with feedback to produce a closed loop operation. When
dealing with operational amplifiers there are two very important rules
to remember about inverting amplifiers, these are: “No current flows
into the input terminal” and that “V1 always equals V2”. However, in
real world op-amp circuits both of these rules are slightly broken.
This is because the junction of the input and feedback signal ( X ) is
at the same potential as the positive ( + ) input which is at zero volts
or ground then, the junction is a “Virtual Earth”. Because of this
virtual earth node the input resistance of the amplifier is equal to the
value of the input resistor, Rin and the closed loop gain of the
inverting amplifier can be set by the ratio of the two external
resistors.
We said above that there are two very important rules to remember
about Inverting Amplifiers or any operational amplifier for that
matter and these are.
 No Current Flows into the Input Terminals

 The Differential Input Voltage is Zero as V1 =
V2 = 0 (Virtual Earth)
Then by using these two rules we can derive the equation for
calculating the closed-loop gain of an inverting amplifier, using first
principles.
Current ( i ) flows through the resistor network as shown.

Then, the Closed-Loop Voltage Gain of an Inverting Amplifier is

given as.
and this can be transposed to give Vout as:
Linear Output

The negative sign in the equation indicates

an inversion of the output signal with respect
to the input as it is 180o out of phase. This is
due to the feedback being negative in value.
The equation for the output
voltage Vout also shows that the circuit is
linear in nature for a fixed amplifier gain as
Vout = Vin x Gain. This property can be very useful for converting a
smaller sensor signal to a much larger voltage.
Another useful application of an inverting amplifier is that of a
“transresistance amplifier” circuit. A Transresistance Amplifier also
known as a “transimpedance amplifier”, is basically a current-to-
voltage converter (Current “in” and Voltage “out”). They can be used
in low-power applications to convert a very small current generated
by a photo-diode or photo-detecting device etc, into a usable output
voltage which is proportional to the input current as shown.
Transresistance Amplifier Circuit
The simple light-activated circuit above, converts a current

generated by the photo-diode into a voltage. The feedback
resistor Rƒ sets the operating voltage point at the inverting input and
controls the amount of output. The output voltage is given as Vout =
Is x Rƒ. Therefore, the output voltage is proportional to the amount
of input current generated by the photo-diode.
Inverting Op-amp Example No1

Find the closed loop gain of the following inverting amplifier circuit.

Using the previously found formula for the gain of the circuit
we can now substitute the values of the resistors in the circuit as

follows,
Rin = 10kΩ and Rƒ = 100kΩ

and the gain of the circuit is calculated as: -Rƒ/Rin = 100k/10k = -10
Therefore, the closed loop gain of the inverting amplifier circuit
above is given -10 or 20dB (20log(10)).
Inverting Op-amp Example No2

The gain of the original circuit is to be increased to 40 (32dB), find
the new values of the resistors required.
Assuming that the input resistor is to remain at the same value
of 10KΩ, then by re-arranging the closed loop voltage gain formula
we can find the new value required for the feedback resistor Rƒ.
Gain = Rƒ/Rin
therefore, Rƒ = Gain x Rin
Rƒ = 40 x 10,000
Rƒ = 400,000 or 400KΩ
The new values of resistors required for the circuit to have a gain
of 40 would be:
Rin = 10KΩ and Rƒ = 400KΩ

The formula could also be rearranged to give a new value of Rin,

keeping the same value of Rƒ.
One final point to note about the Inverting Amplifier configuration
for an operational amplifier, if the two resistors are of equal
value, Rin = Rƒ then the gain of the amplifier will be -1 producing a
complementary form of the input voltage at its output as Vout =
-Vin. This type of inverting amplifier configuration is generally called
a Unity Gain Inverter of simply an Inverting Buffer.
In the next tutorial about Operational Amplifiers, we will analyse the
complement of the Inverting Amplifier operational amplifier circuit
called the Non-inverting Amplifier that produces an output signal
which is “in-phase” with the input.
1.3.2 Non-inverting Operational Amplifier

The second basic configuration of an operational amplifier circuit is
that of a Non-inverting Operational Amplifier design.
In this configuration, the input voltage signal, ( VIN ) is applied

directly to the non-inverting ( + ) input terminal which means that the
output gain of the amplifier becomes “Positive” in value in contrast to
the “Inverting Amplifier” circuit we saw in the last tutorial whose
output gain is negative in value. The result of this is that the output
signal is “in-phase” with the input signal.
Feedback control of the non-inverting operational amplifier is
achieved by applying a small part of the output voltage signal back
to the inverting ( – ) input terminal via a Rƒ – R2 voltage divider
network, again producing negative feedback. This closed-loop
configuration produces a non-inverting amplifier circuit with very
good stability, a very high input impedance, Rin approaching infinity,
as no current flows into the positive input terminal, (ideal conditions)
and a low output impedance, Rout as shown below.
Non-inverting Operational Amplifier Configuration

In the previous Inverting Amplifier tutorial, we said that for an ideal

op-amp “No current flows into the input terminal” of the amplifier and
that “V1 always equals V2”. This was because the junction of the
input and feedback signal ( V1 ) are at the same potential.
In other words the junction is a “virtual earth” summing point.
Because of this virtual earth node the resistors, Rƒ and R2 form a
simple potential divider network across the non-inverting amplifier
with the voltage gain of the circuit being determined by the ratios
of R2 and Rƒ as shown below.
Equivalent Potential Divider Network
Then using the formula to calculate the output voltage of a potential

divider network, we can calculate the closed-loop voltage gain ( AV )
of the Non-inverting Amplifier as follows:

Then the closed loop voltage gain of a Non-inverting

Operational Amplifier will be given as:
We can see from the equation above, that the overall closed-loop
gain of a non-inverting amplifier will always be greater but never less
than one (unity), it is positive in nature and is determined by the ratio
of the values of Rƒ and R2.
If the value of the feedback resistor Rƒ is zero, the gain of the
amplifier will be exactly equal to one (unity). If resistor R2 is zero the
gain will approach infinity, but in practice it will be limited to the
operational amplifiers open-loop differential gain, ( AO ).
We can easily convert an inverting operational amplifier
configuration into a non-inverting amplifier configuration by simply
changing the input connections as shown.

1.3.3. Voltage Follower (Unity Gain Buffer)

If we made the feedback resistor, Rƒ equal to zero, (Rƒ = 0), and
resistor R2 equal to infinity, (R2 = ∞), then the circuit would have a
fixed gain of “1” as all the output voltage would be present on the
inverting input terminal (negative feedback). This would then
produce a special type of the non-inverting amplifier circuit called
a Voltage Follower or also called a “unity gain buffer”.
As the input signal is connected directly to the non-inverting input of
the amplifier the output signal is not inverted resulting in the output
voltage being equal to the input voltage, Vout = Vin. This then
makes the voltage follower circuit ideal as a Unity Gain Buffer
circuit because of its isolation properties.
The advantage of the unity gain voltage follower is that it can be
used when impedance matching or circuit isolation is more important
than amplification as it maintains the signal voltage. The input
impedance of the voltage follower circuit is very high, typically above
1MΩ as it is equal to that of the operational amplifiers input
resistance times its gain ( Rin x AO ). Also its output impedance is
very low since an ideal op-amp condition is assumed.
Non-inverting Voltage Follower
In this non-inverting circuit configuration, the input

impedance Rin has increased to infinity and the feedback
impedance Rƒ reduced to zero. The output is connected directly
back to the negative inverting input so the feedback is 100%
and Vin is exactly equal to Vout giving it a fixed gain of 1 or unity. As
the input voltage Vin is applied to the non-inverting input the gain of
the amplifier is given as:

Since no current flows into the non-inverting input terminal the input
impedance is infinite (ideal op-amp) and also no current flows
through the feedback loop so any value of resistance may be placed
in the feedback loop without affecting the characteristics of the
circuit as no voltage is dissipated across it, zero current flows, zero
voltage drop, zero power loss.
As the input current is zero giving zero input power, the voltage
follower can provide a large power gain. However in most real unity
gain buffer circuits a low value (typically 1kΩ) resistor is required to
reduce any offset input leakage currents, and also if the operational
amplifier is of a current feedback type.
The voltage follower or unity gain buffer is a special and very useful
type of Non-inverting amplifier circuit that is commonly used in
electronics to isolated circuits from each other especially in High-
order state variable or Sallen-Key type active filters to separate one
filter stage from the other. Typical digital buffer IC’s available are the
74LS125 Quad 3-state buffer or the more common 74LS244 Octal
buffer.
One final thought, the closed loop voltage gain of a voltage follower
circuit is “1” or Unity. The open loop voltage gain of an operational
amplifier with no feedback is Infinite. Then by carefully selecting the
feedback components we can control the amount of gain produced
by a non-inverting operational amplifier anywhere from one to
infinity.
Thus far we have analysed an inverting and non-inverting amplifier
circuit that has just one input signal, Vin. In the next topic about
Operational Amplifiers, we will examine the effect of the output
voltage, Vout by connecting more inputs to the amplifier. This then
produces another common type of operational amplifier circuit called
a Summing Amplifier which can be used to “add” together the
voltages present on its inputs.
1.5. The Summing Amplifier

The Summing Amplifier is another type of operational amplifier

circuit configuration that is used to combine the voltages present on

two or more inputs into a single output voltage.
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We saw previously in the inverting operational amplifier that the
inverting amplifier has a single input voltage, (Vin) applied to the
inverting input terminal. If we add more input resistors to the input,
each equal in value to the original input resistor, (Rin) we end up
with another operational amplifier circuit called a Summing
Amplifier, “summing inverter” or even a “voltage adder” circuit as
shown below.
Summing Amplifier Circuit
In this simple summing amplifier circuit, the output voltage, ( Vout )

now becomes proportional to the sum of the input voltages, V 1, V2,
V3, etc. Then we can modify the original equation for the inverting
amplifier to take account of these new inputs thus:

However, if all the input impedances, ( RIN ) are equal in value, we

can simplify the above equation to give an output voltage of:
Summing Amplifier Equation
We now have an operational amplifier circuit that will amplify each

individual input voltage and produce an output voltage signal that is
proportional to the algebraic “SUM” of the three individual input
voltages V1, V2 and V3. We can also add more inputs if required as
each individual input “sees” their respective resistance, Rin as the
only input impedance.
This is because the input signals are effectively isolated from each
other by the “virtual earth” node at the inverting input of the op-amp.
A direct voltage addition can also be obtained when all the
resistances are of equal value and Rƒ is equal to Rin.
Note that when the summing point is connected to the inverting input
of the op-amp the circuit will produce the negative sum of any
number of input voltages. Likewise, when the summing point is
connected to the non-inverting input of the op-amp, it will produce
the positive sum of the input voltages.
A Scaling Summing Amplifier can be made if the individual input
resistors are “NOT” equal. Then the equation would have to be
modified to:
To make the math’s a little easier, we can rearrange the above

formula to make the feedback resistor Rƒ the subject of the equation
giving the output voltage as:

This allows the output voltage to be easily calculated if more input

resistors are connected to the amplifiers inverting input terminal. The
input impedance of each individual channel is the value of their
respective input resistors, ie, R1, R2, R3 … etc.
Sometimes we need a summing circuit to just add together two or
more voltage signals without any amplification. By putting all of the
resistances of the circuit above to the same value R, the op-amp will
have a voltage gain of unity and an output voltage equal to the direct
sum of all the input voltages as shown:
The Summing Amplifier is a very flexible circuit indeed, enabling us

to effectively “Add” or “Sum” (hence its name) together several
individual input signals. If the inputs resistors, R1, R2, R3 etc, are all
equal a “unity gain inverting adder” will be made. However, if the
input resistors are of different values a “scaling summing amplifier” is
produced which will output a weighted sum of the input signals.
Summing Amplifier Example No1

Find the output voltage of the following Summing Amplifier circuit.
Summing Amplifier

Using the previously found formula for the gain of the circuit:
We can now substitute the values of the resistors in the circuit as

follows:
We know that the output voltage is the sum of the two amplified
input signals and is calculated as:
Then the output voltage of the Summing Amplifier circuit above is

given as -45 mV and is negative as its an inverting amplifier.
Non-inverting Summing Amplifier

But as well as constructing inverting summing amplifiers, we can
also use the non-inverting input of the operational amplifier to
produce a non-inverting summing amplifier. We have seen above
that an inverting summing amplifier produces the negative sum of its
input voltages then it follows that the non-inverting summing
amplifier configuration will produce the positive sum of its input
voltages.
As its name implies, the non-inverting summing amplifier is based
around the configuration of a non-inverting operational amplifier
circuit in that the input (either ac or dc) is applied to the non-inverting

(+) terminal, while the required negative feedback and gain is

achieved by feeding back some portion of the output signal (V OUT) to
the inverting (-) terminal as shown.
Non-inverting Summing Amplifier

So what’s the advantage of the non-inverting configuration
compared to the inverting summing amplifier configuration. Besides
the most obvious fact that the op-amps output voltage V OUT is in
phase with its input, and the output voltage is the weighted sum of
all its inputs which themselves are determined by their resistance
ratios, the biggest advantage of the non-inverting summing amplifier
is that because there is no virtual earth condition across the input
terminals, its input impedance is much higher than that of the
standard inverting amplifier configuration.
Also, the input summing part of the circuit is unaffected if the op-
amps closed-loop voltage gain is changed. However, there is more
maths involed in selecting the weighted gains for each individual
input at the summing junction especially if there are more than two
inputs each with a different weighting factor. Nevertheless, if all the
inputs have the same resistive values, then the maths involved will
be a lot less.
If the closed-loop gain of the non-inverting operational amplifier is
made equal the number of summing inputs, then the op-amps output
voltage will be exactly equal to the sum of all the input voltages. That
is for a two input non-inverting summing amplifier, the op-amps gain
is equal to 2, for a three input summing amplifier the op-amps gain is
3, and so on. This is because the currents which flow in each input
resistor is a function of the voltage at all its inputs. If the input
resistances made all equal, (R1 = R2) then the circulating currents

cancel out as they can not flow into the high impedance non-
inverting input of the op-amp and the voutput voltage becomes the
sum of its inputs.
So for a 2-input non-inverting summing amplifier the currents flowing
into the input terminals can be defined as:

If we make the two input resistances equal in value, then R1 = R2 =
R.

The standard equation for the voltage gain of a non-inverting
summing amplifier circuit is given as:

The non-inverting amplifiers closed-loop voltage gain A V is given
as: 1 + RA/RB. If we make this closed-loop voltage gain equal to 2 by

making RA = RB, then the output voltage VO becomes equal to the
sum of all the input voltages as shown.
Non-inverting Summing Amplifier Output Voltage

Thus for a 3-input non-inverting summing amplifier configuration,
setting the closed-loop voltage gain to 3 will make V OUT equal to the
sum of the three input voltages, V1, V2 and V3. Likewise, for a four
input summer, the closed-loop voltage gain would be 4, and 5 for a
5-input summer, and so on. Note also that if the amplifier of the
summing circuit is connected as a unity follower with R A equal to
zero and RB equal to infinity, then with no voltage gain the output
voltage VOUT will be exactly equal the average value of all the input
voltages. That is VOUT = (V1 + V2)/2.
Summing Amplifier Applications

So what can we use summing amplifiers for, either inverting or non-
inverting. If the input resistances of a summing amplifier are
connected to potentiometers the individual input signals can be
mixed together by varying amounts.
For example, measuring temperature, you could add a negative
offset voltage to make the output voltage or display read “0” at the
freezing point or produce an audio mixer for adding or mixing
together individual waveforms (sounds) from different source
channels (vocals, instruments, etc) before sending them combined
to an audio amplifier.
Summing Amplifier Audio Mixer

Another useful application of a Summing Amplifier is as a weighted

sum digital-to-analogue converter, (DAC). If the input
resistors, RIN of the summing amplifier double in value for each
input, for example, 1kΩ, 2kΩ, 4kΩ, 8kΩ, 16kΩ, etc, then a digital
logical voltage, either a logic level “0” or a logic level “1” on these
inputs will produce an output which is the weighted sum of the digital
inputs. Consider the circuit below.
Digital to Analogue Converter
Of course this is a simple example. In this DAC summing amplifier

circuit, the number of individual bits that make up the input data
word, and in this example 4-bits, will ultimately determine the output
step voltage as a percentage of the full-scale analogue output
voltage.
Also, the accuracy of this full-scale analogue output depends on
voltage levels of the input bits being consistently 0V for “0” and
consistently 5V for “1” as well as the accuracy of the resistance
values used for the input resistors, RIN.
Fortunately to overcome these errors, at least on our part,
commercially available Digital-to Analogue and Analogue-to Digital
devices are readily available with highly accurate resistor ladder
networks already built-in.
In the next topic about operational amplifiers, we will examine the

effect of the output voltage, Vout when a signal voltage is connected

to the inverting input and the non-inverting input at the same time to
produce another common type of operational amplifier circuit called
a Differential Amplifier which can be used to “subtract” the voltages
present on its inputs.
1.6. The Differential Amplifier

The differential amplifier amplifies the voltage difference present on
its inverting and non-inverting inputs
Thus far we have used only one of the operational amplifiers inputs
to connect to the amplifier, using either the “inverting” or the “non-
inverting” input terminal to amplify a single input signal with the other
input being connected to ground.
But as a standard operational amplifier has two inputs, inverting and
no-inverting, we can also connect signals to both of these inputs at
the same time producing another common type of operational
amplifier circuit called a Differential Amplifier.
Basically, as we saw in the first tutorial about operational amplifiers,
all op-amps are “Differential Amplifiers” due to their input
configuration. But by connecting one voltage signal onto one input
terminal and another voltage signal onto the other input terminal the
resultant output voltage will be proportional to the “Difference”
between the two input voltage signals of V1 and V2.
Then differential amplifiers amplify the difference between two
voltages making this type of operational amplifier circuit
a Subtractor unlike a summing amplifier which adds or sums
together the input voltages. This type of operational amplifier circuit
is commonly known as a Differential Amplifier configuration and is
shown below:

Differential Amplifier
By connecting each input in turn to 0v ground we can use

superposition to solve for the output voltage Vout. Then the transfer
function for a Differential Amplifier circuit is given as:
When resistors, R1 = R2 and R3 = R4 the above transfer function for

the differential amplifier can be simplified to the following expression:
Differential Amplifier Equation
If all the resistors are all of the same ohmic value, that is: R1 = R2 =
R3 = R4 then the circuit will become a Unity Gain Differential
Amplifier and the voltage gain of the amplifier will be exactly one or
unity. Then the output expression would simply be Vout = V2 – V1.
Also note that if input V1 is higher than input V2 the output voltage
sum will be negative, and if V2 is higher than V1, the output voltage
sum will be positive.
The Differential Amplifier circuit is a very useful op-amp circuit and
by adding more resistors in parallel with the input
resistors R1 and R3, the resultant circuit can be made to either
“Add” or “Subtract” the voltages applied to their respective inputs.
One of the most common ways of doing this is to connect a
“Resistive Bridge” commonly called a Wheatstone Bridge to the
input of the amplifier as shown below.
Wheatstone Bridge Differential Amplifier
The standard Differential Amplifier circuit now becomes a differential

voltage comparator by “Comparing” one input voltage to the other.
For example, by connecting one input to a fixed voltage reference
set up on one leg of the resistive bridge network and the other to
either a “Thermistor” or a “Light Dependant Resistor” the amplifier
circuit can be used to detect either low or high levels of temperature
or light as the output voltage becomes a linear function of the
changes in the active leg of the resistive bridge and this is
demonstrated below.
Light Activated Differential Amplifier

Here the circuit above acts as a light-activated switch which turns

the output relay either “ON” or “OFF” as the light level detected by
the LDR resistor exceeds or falls below some pre-set value. A fixed
voltage reference is applied to the non-inverting input terminal of the
op-amp via the R1 – R2 voltage divider network.
The voltage value at V1 sets the op-amps trip point with a feed back
potentiometer, VR2 used to set the switching hysteresis. That is the
difference between the light level for “ON” and the light level for
“OFF”.
The second leg of the differential amplifier consists of a standard
light dependant resistor, also known as a LDR, photoresistive sensor
that changes its resistive value (hence its name) with the amount of
light on its cell as their resistive value is a function of illumination.
The LDR can be any standard type of cadmium-sulphide (cdS)
photoconductive cell such as the common NORP12 that has a
resistive range of between about 500Ω in sunlight to about 20kΩ or
more in the dark.
The NORP12 photoconductive cell has a spectral response similar
to that of the human eye making it ideal for use in lighting control
type applications. The photocell resistance is proportional to the light
level and falls with increasing light intensity so therefore the voltage
level at V2 will also change above or below the switching point which
can be determined by the position of VR1.
Then by adjusting the light level trip or set position using
potentiometer VR1 and the switching hysteresis using
potentiometer, VR2 an precision light-sensitive switch can be made.
Depending upon the application, the output from the op-amp can
switch the load directly, or use a transistor switch to control a relay
or the lamps themselves.
It is also possible to detect temperature using this type of simple
circuit configuration by replacing the light dependant resistor with a
thermistor. By interchanging the positions of VR1 and the LDR, the

circuit can be used to detect either light or dark, or heat or cold using
a thermistor.
One major limitation of this type of amplifier design is that its input
impedances are lower compared to that of other operational
amplifier configurations, for example, a non-inverting (single-ended
input) amplifier.
Each input voltage source has to drive current through an input
resistance, which has less overall impedance than that of the op-
amps input alone. This may be good for a low impedance source
such as the bridge circuit above, but not so good for a high
impedance source.
One way to overcome this problem is to add a Unity Gain Buffer
Amplifier such as the voltage follower seen in the previous tutorial to
each input resistor. This then gives us a differential amplifier circuit
with very high input impedance and low output impedance as it
consists of two non-inverting buffers and one differential amplifier.
This then forms the basis for most “Instrumentation Amplifiers”.
Instrumentation Amplifier
Instrumentation Amplifiers (in-amps) are very high gain differential
amplifiers which have a high input impedance and a single ended
output. Instrumentation amplifiers are mainly used to amplify very
small differential signals from strain gauges, thermocouples or
current sensing devices in motor control systems.
Unlike standard operational amplifiers in which their closed-loop gain
is determined by an external resistive feedback connected between
their output terminal and one input terminal, either positive or
negative, “instrumentation amplifiers” have an internal feedback
resistor that is effectively isolated from its input terminals as the
input signal is applied across two differential inputs, V1 and V2.
The instrumentation amplifier also has a very good common mode
rejection ratio, CMRR (zero output when V1 = V2) well in excess of
100dB at DC. A typical example of a three op-amp instrumentation
amplifier with a high input impedance ( Zin ) is given below:
High Input Impedance Instrumentation Amplifier

The two non-inverting amplifiers form a differential input stage acting

as buffer amplifiers with a gain of 1 + 2R2/R1 for differential input
signals and unity gain for common mode input signals. Since
amplifiers A1 and A2 are closed loop negative feedback amplifiers,
we can expect the voltage at Va to be equal to the input voltage V1.
Likewise, the voltage at Vb to be equal to the value at V2.
As the op-amps take no current at their input terminals (virtual
earth), the same current must flow through the three resistor network
of R2, R1 and R2 connected across the op-amp outputs. This
means then that the voltage on the upper end of R1 will be equal
to V1 and the voltage at the lower end of R1 to be equal to V2.
This produces a voltage drop across resistor R1 which is equal to
the voltage difference between inputs V1 and V2, the differential
input voltage, because the voltage at the summing junction of each
amplifier, Va and Vb is equal to the voltage applied to its positive
inputs.
However, if a common-mode voltage is applied to the amplifiers
inputs, the voltages on each side of R1 will be equal, and no current
will flow through this resistor. Since no current flows
through R1 (nor, therefore, through both R2 resistors,
amplifiers A1 and A2 will operate as unity-gain followers (buffers).
Since the input voltage at the outputs of
amplifiers A1 and A2 appears differentially across the three resistor
network, the differential gain of the circuit can be varied by just
changing the value of R1.
The voltage output from the differential op-amp A3 acting as a
subtractor, is simply the difference between its two inputs ( V2 – V1 )

and which is amplified by the gain of A3 which may be one, unity,

(assuming that R3 = R4). Then we have a general expression for
overall voltage gain of the instrumentation amplifier circuit as:
Instrumentation Amplifier Equation
Review of Operational Amplifiers Summary

Concepts Operational Amplifiers summary sheet defining the basic
characteristics of the various operational amplifier configurations.
We can conclude our section and look at Operational Amplifiers with

the following summary of the different types of Op-amp circuits and
their different configurations discussed throughout this op-amp
section.
Operational Amplifier General Conditions

 The Operational Amplifier, or Op-amp as it is most

commonly called, can be an ideal amplifier with infinite Gain
and Bandwidth when used in the Open-loop mode with typical
DC gains of well over 100,000 or 100dB.
 The basic Op-amp construction is of a 3-terminal device,
with 2-inputs and 1-output, (excluding power connections).
 An Operational Amplifier operates from either a dual
positive ( +V ) and an corresponding negative ( -V ) supply, or
they can operate from a single DC supply voltage.
 The two main laws associated with the operational
amplifier are that it has an infinite input impedance, ( Z = ∞ )
resulting in “No current flowing into either of its two inputs”
and zero input offset voltage V1 = V2.
 An operational amplifier also has zero output impedance,
( Z = 0 ).
 Op-amps sense the difference between the voltage signals
applied to their two input terminals and then multiply it by some
pre-determined Gain, ( A ).
 This Gain, ( A ) is often referred to as the amplifiers “Open-
loop Gain”.
 Closing the open loop by connecting a resistive or reactive
component between the output and one input terminal of the
op-amp greatly reduces and controls this open-loop gain.
 Op-amps can be connected into two basic
configurations, Inverting and Non-inverting.
The Two Basic Operational Amplifier Circuits
 For negative feedback, were the fed-back voltage is in

“anti-phase” to the input the overall gain of the amplifier is
reduced.

 For positive feedback, were the fed-back voltage is in

“Phase” with the input the overall gain of the amplifier is
increased.
 By connecting the output directly back to the negative input
terminal, 100% feedback is achieved resulting in a Voltage
Follower (buffer) circuit with a constant gain of 1 (Unity).
 Changing the fixed feedback resistor ( Rƒ ) for a
Potentiometer, the circuit will have Adjustable Gain.
Operational Amplifier Gain
 The Open-loop gain called the Gain Bandwidth Product,

or (GBP) can be very high and is a measure of how good an
amplifier is.
 Very high GBP makes an operational amplifier circuit
unstable as a micro volt input signal causes the output voltage
to swing into saturation.
 By the use of a suitable feedback resistor, ( Rƒ ) the
overall gain of the amplifier can be accurately controlled.
Differential and Summing Amplifiers


 By adding more input resistors to either the inverting or
non-inverting inputs Voltage Adders or Summers can be
made.
 Voltage follower op-amps can be added to the inputs of
Differential amplifiers to produce high impedance
Instrumentation amplifiers.
 The Differential Amplifier produces an output that is
proportional to the difference between the two input voltages.
Further Readings
Differentiator and Integrator Operational Amplifier

Circuits
 The Integrator Amplifier produces an output that is the

mathematical operation of integration.

 The Differentiator Amplifier produces an output that is

the mathematical operation of differentiation.
 Both the Integrator and Differentiator Amplifiers have a
resistor and capacitor connected across the op-amp and are
affected by its RC time constant.
 In their basic form, Differentiator Amplifiers suffer from
instability and noise but additional components can be added
to reduce the overall closed-loop gain.
References (2009)Matsuzawa A., Mixed signal systems and integrated circuits, Tokyo
Institute of Technology
(2007). The Fundamentals of Mixed Signal Testing, ON

Semiconductor Utah Design Center, Engineers & Designs

All About Circuits (www.allaboutcircuits.com),
1998. CMOS Circuit Design, Layout, and Simulation, (IEEE PRESS)

Fundamentals of Mixed Signals and Sensors Learning Module 1 FINAL by CORVERA

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LEARNING MODULE SURIGAO STATE COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY

What is Mixed-Signal Design?

CPE 108 – PROGRAMMING LOGIC AND DESIGN 1

Programmability, Analog Trim, FPGA’s etc.

Why Mixed-Signal Design?

Some Mixed Signal Applications

CPE 108 – PROGRAMMING LOGIC AND DESIGN 2

Why Mixed Signal Integrated Circuits?

Current electronics and mixed signal technology

Exciting digital consumer electronics world

CPE 108 – PROGRAMMING LOGIC AND DESIGN 3

LCD driver is a simple example of mixed signal LSI

LCD driver is an array of DA converters

CPE 108 – PROGRAMMING LOGIC AND DESIGN 4

Image of current electronics

Mixed signal technology :Digital networking

CPE 108 – PROGRAMMING LOGIC AND DESIGN 5

ADSL and VDSL use the mixed signal technology

Mixed signal tech. ; Digital read channel

CPE 108 – PROGRAMMING LOGIC AND DESIGN 6

Mixed signal SoC

Recent developed mixed signal CMOS LSIs

CPE 108 – PROGRAMMING LOGIC AND DESIGN 7

Application area in mixed signal CMOS tech.

Digital technology in real world

CPE 108 – PROGRAMMING LOGIC AND DESIGN 8

Role of current analog technology

1.2. Operational Amplifier Basics

Operational Amplifiers, or Op-amps as they are more commonly

CPE 108 – PROGRAMMING LOGIC AND DESIGN 9

An Operational Amplifier, or op-amp for short, is fundamentally a

An Operational Amplifier is basically a three-terminal device which

A third terminal represents the operational amplifiers output port

Voltage – Voltage “in” and Voltage “out”

The output voltage signal from an Operational Amplifier is the

The circuit below shows a generalized form of a differential amplifier

CPE 108 – PROGRAMMING LOGIC AND DESIGN 10

So as the forward bias of transistor, TR1 is increased, the forward

This is known as the Common Mode of Operation with the common

Operational Amplifiers also have one output (although there are

CPE 108 – PROGRAMMING LOGIC AND DESIGN 11

However, in real amplifiers there is always some variation and the

Operational Amplifiers on their own have a very high open loop DC

An operational amplifier only responds to the difference between the

Equivalent Circuit of an Ideal Operational Amplifier

Op-amp Parameter and Idealised Characteristic

Open Loop Gain, (Avo)

Infinite – The main function of an operational amplifier is to amplify

Input impedance, (ZIN)

CPE 108 – PROGRAMMING LOGIC AND DESIGN 12

Infinite – Input impedance is the ratio of input voltage to input

Output impedance, (ZOUT)

Zero – The output impedance of the ideal operational amplifier is

Infinite – An ideal operational amplifier has an infinite frequency

Offset Voltage, (VIO)

From these “idealized” characteristics above, we can see that the

However, real Operational Amplifiers such as the commonly

CPE 108 – PROGRAMMING LOGIC AND DESIGN 13

Open-loop Frequency Response Curve

GBP = Gain x Bandwidth = A x BW

GBP = A x BW = 10 x 100,000Hz = 1,000,000.

Similarly, the operational amplifiers gain at 1kHz = 60dB or 1000,

GBP = A x BW = 1,000 x 1,000Hz = 1,000,000. The same!.

The Voltage Gain (AV) of the operational amplifier can be found